Gonzaga Baseball at No. 4 Stanford Monday, Home for WSU

[TerpZag]

Baseball at No. 4 Stanford Monday, Home for WSU

Gonzaga will play at 6 p.m. at home on Tuesday


Gonzaga (19-16) at No. 4 Stanford (27-6)
April 22 | 1:05 p.m. | Stanford, Calif.
Live Video | Live Stats

Gonzaga (19-16) vs. Washington State (8-27-1)
April 23 | 6:05 p.m. | Spokane, Wash.
Live Video | Live Stats

Zags Take Two of Three at Santa Clara
- Gonzaga dropped the opener 4-0 at Santa Clara, but bounced back to take the next two games and win the road series.
- Nick Nyquist had a huge second game, going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, home run and five RBI.
- Alek Jacob went 5.0 innings to get the win in that second game.
- On Sunday, Mac Lardner got the victory, going 8.1 innings, while Nick Trogrlic-Iverson got his first-career save.

Pac-12 Foes Aplenty
- Oregon was the fifth of 10 Pac-12 opponents this season, and GU is 2-3 so far heading into Monday's tilt at Stanford.
- Earlier this season, Gonzaga won 5-3 on the road at Utah. In that game, the Zags got 4.1 innings from lefty starter Matthew Henckel (2 R, 7 H) and 4.2 innings from the bullpen (combined 1 R, 6 H), and Nick Nyquist hit a three-run homer with the Zags down 2-1 in the sixth to put them ahead for good.
- Three weeks ago, Gonzaga took down last year's College World Series participant Washington in a single-game midweek contest, 5-4. The Zags got out to leads of 3-0 and 4-3, before breaking a four-all tie in the bottom of the eighth. Ernie Yake knocked home Brett Harris with a hard-hit ball to the first baseman's left for the deciding run. Michael Spellacy came out in the ninth and went 1-2-3 for his first career save...


Team Notes
- Gonzaga has played in five extra-inning games this season and is 4-1 overall.
- Gonzaga has won six of its last eight games.
- GU is 5-3 at home and 13-10 in true road games.
- Gonzaga has 83 doubles to just 39 for opponents, but has 20 total homers compared to 38 for opponents.
- GU is sixth nationally in doubles per game at 2.39 with Troy Johnston's nation-leading 0.58 per game.
- Gonzaga is also good at taking pitches, getting HBPs 49 times on the year.
- GU has also struck out 45 less times than their opponents in total on the year - 253-208....

Gonzaga Article Link

[TerpZag]

Baseball Drops Heartbreaker at No. 3 Stanford, 11-10

Nick Nyquist had his second five-RBI performance in the last three games


Stanford 11 - Gonzaga 10 Final Box Score Link


STANFORD, Calif. — Gonzaga baseball made a big comeback and took a four-run lead to the eighth, but couldn't hold it at No. 3 Stanford in an 11-10 loss on Monday afternoon in Stanford, Calif.

Down 6-1 heading to the sixth inning, GU (19-17) scored the game's next nine runs to build a 10-6 lead with two innings left. The Stanford (28-6) offense then came alive, posting the final five runs of the game to take the win.

"That's a tough battle to lose, but I'm proud of the resiliency of our guys to come back and take the lead," head coach Mark Machtolf said. "That's a game we need to win, and do a better job in the late innings. We are looking forward to getting back home and facing WSU tomorrow."

Nick Nyquist provided a big part of the offense with a grand slam and five total RBI, his second five-RBI game in the last three times out. Guthrie Morrison had three hits and scored twice, while Ernie Yake had two hits with an RBI and two runs scored.

On the mound, Michael Spellacy started and threw the first 4.0 innings, but allowed five runs on seven hits with one strikeout and one walk. Taylor Davis and Trent Schulte combined to pitch the next 2.2 innings and allowed just one run and two hits before giving way to Nick Trogrlic-Iverson for the last 1.2 innings.

After getting a run in the third on an RBI groundout from Jack Machtolf to close the deficit to 4-1, Stanford got one each in the fourth and fifth to go up 6-1.

But, that's when Gonzaga put together a huge six-run sixth inning behind the strength of Nyquist's grand slam. GU started the scoring with an RBI single from Pinorini and then scored another run after a Stanford error to pull within 6-3. That's when Nyquist stepped to the plate and deposited his lead-changing and team-leading eighth homer of the year.

GU extended its lead to 10-6 with a run in the seventh on another Nyquist RBI single and then posted two more in the eighth. Yake knocked home a run on a single and then Troy Johnston capped the inning with an RBI double.

Stanford wouldn't go away, however, getting a two-run homer in the eighth and three runs in the ninth with a walkoff single to win it.

Gonzaga will make a quick turnaround trip home to face Washington State at home on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast locally on SWX. Check GoZags.com for links to live coverage.

Gonzaga Article Link

[TerpZag]

Baseball Takes 8-5 Win Over WSU

Troy Johnston hit a 2-run HR and Schulte closed final 2.2 innings


Gonzaga 8 - WSU 5 Final Box Score Link


SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga baseball got a two-run homer from Troy Johnston and 2.2 hitless innings from Trent Schulte to close an 8-5 win over Washington State on Tuesday night in Spokane, Wash.
Gonzaga (20-17) jumped out to a 5-2 lead and then answered the Cougars (8-28-1) after WSU had tied it at 5-5 with three runs over their own.

On offense, the Zags got two hits each from Johnston and Austin Pinorini, including a two-run homer and two runs scored by Johnston. Josh Bristyan and Slade Heggen each had two RBI in the game.

On the mound, the starter Justin Blatner went the first 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Daniel Naughton came on in relief and threw 2.0 innings of one-run ball before giving way to Schulte, who finished the game. The left-hander didn't allow a hit over 2.2 innings and walked just one to get his second save of the season.

Gonzaga got off to a quick start with three runs in the second and two more in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Bristyan provided the offense in the second with a hard-hit two-run double down the left field line. GU got one more on a fielder's choice off the bat of Heggen.

Then in the third, Johnston came to the plate with one aboard and promptly deposited the first pitch of the at-bat over the right field fence for his second home run of the season.

WSU battled back to tie the score at five-all with three in the fifth, but GU answered with two in the sixth and one in the seventh. Heggen did more damage with another RBI on a single and then later scored on a wild pitch to cap the sixth. Nick Nyquist added a sacrifice fly for an 8-5 GU lead through seven innings.

Schulte came on in the seventh and shut down the Cougar offense the rest of the way to get the save.

Gonzaga will be back home on Friday night with the start of a three-game series against San Francisco at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Check GoZags.com for links to live coverage.

Gonzaga Article Link

[sittingon50]

I think another Cougar head coach may be getting the axe after the season.